NORMAN — Nicole Mendes is still recovering from the ACL tear she suffered in the fall.

Oklahoma softball coach Patty Gasso said Mendes got a brace earlier in the week and is moving better.

As for a timeline for the senior outfielder’s return, Gasso hopes to have her back sometime in March, which would be just in time for conference play.

“We’re anticipating looking at her maybe mid to late March,” Gasso said. “How much she’s going to be impactful at that time I’m not quite sure.”

While Mendes is sidelined, she will still have an impact She and junior catcher Lynssie Elam are co-captains this season.

Mendes has a .375 career batting average over three seasons and a .971 career fielding percentage.

New faces expected to make big impact for Sooners

OU will have a lot of new faces on the team.

The Sooners have 10 returning players, but they have also added nine new players to the roster — eight freshmen and one transfer from Auburn.

“I feel like these newcomers have really got their feet on the ground much more,” Gasso said. “And I feel like we’re in a really good place. In the last two weeks we’ve taken some really giant steps in the right direction.”

Gasso expects a number of the newcomers to contribute right away.

Freshman Rylie Boone will start in center field. Freshmen Kinzie Hansen and Mackenzie Donihoo will also find their way into the lineup. Gasso expects Auburn transfer Taylon Snow to play second base.

“But they all are going to make impacts for us,” Gasso said. “I’ve got some young freshmen who have got some unbelievable power, they just need to learn the lay of the land pitching-wise. There’s going to be a lot of new faces that you’ll get used to.”

Sooners pitching staff ‘by committee’ this season

Pitching by committee is going to be the norm this spring, according to Gasso.

With a number of talented, young pitchers, Gasso doesn’t plan on resting the pitching responsibilities on one player. She wants to use the strengths of each pitcher in her bullpen.

(Story continued below...)

“This is absolutely by committee,” Gasso said. “It could be ‘Come in and get these two lefties and thank you very much for your service today…’ To count so much on four pitchers that have never thrown a pitch in college, we don’t want to do it in a way that’s just going to crush their mindset. So, it’s just easing everybody in and challenging them in certain situations.”

The Sooners have returning senior pitchers Giselle Juarez and Shannon Saile, but they also have a number of newcomers.

“I’m very excited to see these new freshmen,” Elam said. “We have three true freshmen and then Brooke Vestal. And then we have Giselle and Shannon, and they’re all so talented. All have gotten better, so it’s been a joy being able to catch so many different varieties of pitchers and just getting used to all of them.”

Abby Bitterman, Staff writer

Abby Bitterman

Abby Bitterman covers OU athletics for The Oklahoman. She joined The Oklahoman in September 2019 to cover high school sports. A Chicago native, Abby graduated from the University of Oklahoma in May of 2019 with degrees in journalism and political...
Read more ›